On the move: Work begins at new Woodward HQ in Fort Collins

Trees are being removed and dirt moved at the former golf course that will house the $200M project.

Aug. 31, 2013

A Woodward sign is posted near a small building at the former Link-N-Greens golf course in Fort Collins as Woodward starts clearing the golf course for construction of its new corporate headquarters Friday. / V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan

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After months of negotiations, board meetings and community open houses, construction has begun on Woodward Inc.’s new corporate campus in Fort Collins.

Construction will take about two years and transform the 101-acre former Link-N-Greens golf course at the corner of Lemay and Lincoln avenues into Woodward’s new global headquarters. The site will feature new corporate offices and expanded manufacturing space to accommodate the company’s growth.

For the next few months, residents will see about 260,000 cubic yards of dirt moved to raise parts of the site out of the floodplain.

During construction, up to 470 mature trees will be cut to make room for the facility. Nearly 180 trees will be preserved, while Woodward will plant more than 1,000 new trees and add landscaping featuring more native plants that use less water than those that lined the former golf course.

Some trees have to come down because they’re in poor condition and hazardous, are invasive species or will be impacted by site regrading, city officials said. Most of the saved trees are likely to be near the Poudre River, the Coy Hoffman Barn and near the property’s northeast corner.

“We hate to lose these trees ... but we are doing everything we can to preserve as many trees as possible,” Bruce Hendee, chief sustainability officer for the city, said in a written statement. The contractor “is also working in close collaboration with our city forestry department to replant some trees nearby and to share mulch from any trees that are removed with the community.”

By mid-2015, the site will be home to a 215,000-square-foot Industrial Turbomachinery Systems building, to be followed by Woodward’s corporate headquarters and engines technology building. Other construction will follow to suit the energy and engine components company’s demands.

Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction is serving as general contractor.

By the first part of May 2014, the Industrial Turbomachinery Systems building should be under construction, with completion set for a year later.

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The city of Fort Collins offered Woodward $23.5 million in tax incentives and fee waivers to keep the company in the city. As part of the agreement, Woodward will deed back to the city 29 acres along the Poudre River.

The company’s $200 million redevelopment is considered a catalyst project for the Lincoln Triangle and Mulberry Street, along with much of Old Town. Eventually, it could bring about 1,700 workers to the area.

Woodward has been part of Fort Collins since 1955 and has operated its corporate headquarters here since 1997.

The cost of land and construction will total about $200 million, with an additional $50 million invested in new equipment. Woodward plans to keep its current facility on Drake Road, but how it and Woodward’s Loveland facility will be used is still being determined.

Woodward’s facilities in Fort Collins and Loveland are at capacity and the company needs more room to accommodate anticipated growth in its two key business sectors: aerospace and energy.

If your company is moving, expanding or making significant changes, contact PatFerrier@coloradoan.com or call (970) 224-7742.